Daily News

Posted on Dec. 23: Grant boosts research into Alzheimer’s disease

In her laboratory within the Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster neuroscientist Margaret Fahnestock is studying proteins essential for nervous system development and function. Her research focus is on the regulation and biosynthesis of neurotrophic factors and their role in Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy. Fahnestock and her colleagues are specifically looking at nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which are necessary for peripheral and central nervous system development, maintenance and response to injury. They are attempting to dissect the mechanisms that regulate NGF and BDNF expression and to determine how these mechanisms go awry in Alzheimer's disease. At a special luncheon held recently, Fahnestock accepted a cheque for $35,000 from Frank Fordham, Hamilton Valley representative, of the Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation of Canada. This was the third instalment of a three-year grant that is helping in the fight against Alzheimer's disease. The foundation also presented Diego Garzon, a graduate student in Fahnestock's laboratory, with a grant for $6,750, the second in two years, which will help with his graduate studies. "Diego and I are grateful to the Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation of Canada for its generous support of our research," said Fahnestock. "We are studying molecules that may protect the brain against neuronal loss in Alzheimer's disease, and we hope our studies will lead to new therapies for this devastating disease. The funds from the Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation of Canada have allowed us to pursue an exciting new lead which has changed our ideas of how NGF and BDNF are synthesized and used by brain cells. The graduate student research grant will allow Diego to continue his graduate studies on why BDNF levels are reduced in Alzheimer's disease." From its incorporation, the foundation has concentrated its efforts in support of research into the causes of and the possible cure of intellectual impairment, especially as it affects children and older adults. Through donations from members and other interested individuals, fundraising programs, bequests and memorials, the Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation of Canada has increased its capital to more than $10 million dollars. This year, income of more than $550,000 was used to fund major research grants and graduate student research grants across Canada.

Posted on Dec. 19: Dropping and adding courses just a click away

Undergraduate students dropping and adding courses can avoid lining up by just a click of a mouse. SOLAR (Student Online Academic Registration), a new Web portal offered through McMaster University General Student Information (MUGSI), allows students to add, drop or cancel courses for the September 2002 to April 2003 academic session. "SOLAR drop and add gives students ownership of their course drop and adds, and the convenience of being able to do course changes at the click of a button," says Sue Pennington, project manager of the Student Self-Registration Project. "Students will be taking responsibility for making course selections that meet their program requirements. They are being advised to get academic counselling if they need it, and to check their personal Degree Audit Report after making changes." MUGSI is available off McMaster's home page at http://www.mcmaster.ca. A seven-digit McMaster Student Number and four-digit PIN must be entered in order to use the site. Eligible students can access MUGSI's SOLAR system from any home or on-campus residence PC, from available PC labs on campus, or from anywhere you surf the Web. For security reasons, the SOLAR system is not accessible from campus MUGSI kiosks'.

Posted on Dec. 20: Operation Shoebox helps Hamilton’s homeless

Nursing students helped perform an important operation this week. In fact, approximately 200 homeless are going to benefit from it. The second annual Operation Shoebox Christmas, an initiative led by M.A.C. Door and Mac SOC, delivered Christmas in a shoebox to Hamilton's homeless community. Nearly 100 volunteers from the School of Nursing, staff, faculty and the community filled nearly 200 shoeboxes with gloves, hats, socks and Christmas candy, which they distributed this week. "Some participants gathered their friends to make a shoebox donation," says Dyanne Semogas, assistant professor and clinical director of M.A.C. Door. "Others made the shoebox drive into a family activity enlisting the imagination of their children. Still others in the spirit of Saint Nicholas gathered their church group to fill once empty shoeboxes with donations of socks, mittens, scarves, gift certificates, bus tickets, toiletries, fruit, toys and chocolates."

Posted on Dec. 18: McMaster applauds Ontario initiative to meet student needs through SuperBuild program

McMaster University President Peter George welcomed Tuesday's announcement by the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities that there will be another round of projects to receive funding from the SuperBuild program. For McMaster, and other post secondary institutions like McMaster that face dramatic demographic pressures due to geographic location, the commitment to capital funding for 13,000 new student spaces targeted at high growth areas of the province is a step in the right direction. "At McMaster, we have increased our enrolment targets by a significant 20 per cent from 2001, in response to the increased demand in our catchment area that extends across the GTA and southwestern Ontario. We are acting now to ensure we are ready and able to accommodate those extra students through a comprehensive plan designed to create new student spaces in response to unprecedented enrolment increases.